Eagles vs. Chiefs predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 2
The Eagles face the Chiefs for the fourth straight season and second time in seven months. Here’s how our writers see Sunday playing out against a familiar foe.
The Eagles head to Kansas City this weekend to meet the Chiefs for the fourth consecutive season.
After losing in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2022 season, the Eagles have won the last two meetings, including February’s thumping in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Nick Sirianni said he considers this almost like a divisional opponent. There are four teams the Eagles have played in all four — and now five — of Sirianni’s seasons with the Eagles: Their three NFC East rivals and the Chiefs.
Here’s how our writers see Sunday playing out against a familiar foe:
Jeff Neiburg
The Chiefs haven’t started a season with two consecutive losses since 2014, Andy Reid’s second year in Kansas City, the last time they failed to make the playoffs.
Patrick Mahomes has lost two games in a row only four times in his NFL career.
Those numbers say that Kansas City will be tough to beat Sunday, but they’re also irrelevant.
The Eagles still have a sizable talent advantage over the Chiefs, who are missing Rashee Rice to a suspension and are dealing with a banged-up Xavier Worthy. Dallas’ 1-2 punch of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens tested the new-look Eagles secondary in a big way, but the Eagles still pitched a shutout in the second half.
» READ MORE: Eagles-Chiefs film: Spying Mahomes, handling exotic blitzes, and other keys in the Super Bowl rematch
Mahomes, of course, is much better than Dak Prescott, but the Chiefs have a rookie left tackle, an average right tackle, and with Jalen Carter back in the fold, don’t expect the Eagles’ defensive front to be shut out in the sack department once again.
And don’t expect A.J. Brown’s first target to come 58 minutes into the game. The Chiefs will probably sell out to stop the run like they did in February. Expect the Eagles to have enough answers.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Chiefs 20
Olivia Reiner
While watching Friday’s game between the Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, I kept coming back to the same question: Are the Chiefs officially on the decline?
Mahomes is still Mahomes, and as long as he’s at the helm of the offense, he’ll continue to keep the team competitive thanks to his ability to use his legs and extend plays. But defensively, aside from defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie, this doesn’t seem like the dominant unit of Kansas City teams past. The communication errors in the secondary on Friday led to plenty of breakdowns, allowing Justin Herbert and the Chargers to capitalize in the passing game.
» READ MORE: The Eagles are lucky Jalen Carter will play Sunday. They’ll be luckier if Patrick Mahomes doesn’t bait him, too.
Was it a fluke, or was it a sign of things to come? We’ll see if Jalen Hurts and the Eagles passing game can generate more explosive plays on Sunday, which were hard to come by against the Cowboys. That task won’t be easy if Dallas Goedert (knee) is unavailable to play. Still, Brown will be eager to rebound after seeing only one target come his way in Week 1.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles defense stands to take a big step in Week 2 with the return of Carter. The Eagles’ pass rush was awfully quiet against the Cowboys, pressuring Prescott on 34.3% of his drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats, which ranked in the middle of the league. The Eagles didn’t sack him once. They need to be smart going up against Mahomes, keep him in the pocket, and bring him down when they have the opportunity. Adding Carter into the mix should help.
Prediction: Eagles 24, Chiefs 20
Matt Breen
It will be a closer game than Super Bowl LIX, but some things have not changed in the last seven months: The Eagles are still the better team on every front. The blowout in the Super Bowl wasn’t a surprise if you paid attention to how the Chiefs bobbed and weaved their way through the AFC playoffs. They looked like that same team last week in Brazil against the Chargers.
The Cowboys were able to move the ball last week when they targeted Eagles cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who is slated to start again against Kansas City. But the Cowboys had Lamb and Pickens while Mahomes lost yet another receiver last week with the injury to Worthy. Jackson’s struggles should be easier to mask against a receiving corps led by Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Eagles contained Travis Kelce in the Super Bowl and have the personnel — including the addition of rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell — to do it again.
» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Chiefs in Week 2: Here are the numbers that matter
The Chiefs’ struggles last week against the pass should give a chance for Hurts and Brown to get back on track after a quiet Week 1. The Eagles will make sure that was a one-off for Brown. He said he controlled the game against Dallas by allowing his teammates to get open and laying down key blocks. On Sunday, Brown will be able to control the game the way he likes best.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Chiefs 17
A loss of belief: Things aren’t getting better; they’re getting worse. The theme doesn’t just apply to the Eagles’ Black Friday loss to the Chicago Bears. It fits the narrative of the entire 2025 season. With five games to go, there’s little reason to hope or expect significant change to take place, particularly on the offensive side of the ball — unless ...
The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner take a look at what the Eagles’ seemingly inherent flaws mean for the homestretch of the season, and how they could affect the fate of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Listen here.
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